Only Carver Center spared 50-percent funding cuts in 2026
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The pain is coming. When establishing its 2026 budget, the board of directors for the Center Township Trustee’s Office mandated a 50-percent cut in community initiative grants and parks and recreation funding.
As a result, more than a dozen local nonprofits will lose funding. But it could have been worse. During budget discussions in late August, board president Linda Koontz called for a complete elimination of funding, justifying the move with her belief that township government soon will be eliminated by the state legislature.
State officials have targeted township government three times in the past 20 years. Those efforts were turned away in 2007, 2018, and in 2025, but there is reason to believe additional attempts will be made.
“Maybe this will get their attention and make them understand they’re either going to have to fundraise or figure out different ways,” said Koontz. “Because when the county absorbs (townships), they’re not going to get these grants.”
Center Township Trustee Drew Durham was taken aback by the move.
“My plan was to walk it back a little bit, not 50 percent,” said Durham. “We were at about $380,000 between parks and recreation contracts and community service providers. I didn’t know I was going to have to battle for these community service providers, which I do feel they all do good programs for our community.”
So, which programs will get hit? The list is wide-ranging: The Kokomo Park Band, the Police Athletic League, Coordinated Assistance Ministries, the Gilead House, United Way Serving Howard and Tipton Counties, Meals on Wheels, Samaritan Caregivers, Friends of Howard Haven, Mental Health America, the Family Service Association, Turning Point A System of Care, Special Olympics, Bridges Outreach, Indiana Black Expo, Bona Vista/DSI, and the Literacy Coalition of Howard County.
All of them should expect significant funding reductions. But there is one exception. Koontz repeatedly expressed a desire to spare the Carver Community Center from the larger cuts.
“I think that community service contracts ought to be half of what you’ve got here,” said Koontz. “The park and recreation contracts, I would have said zero, but I’m a little concerned about Carver.
“I’ve had a problem with this for a long time, outside of Carver. I don’t want to say zero for Carver. I know they struggle, so you would take them down to $25,000. I wouldn’t even have a problem with $30,000. But I’m saying zero on all the others.”
The rest of the board didn’t bite on Koontz’s plan to fully defund the nonprofits, but they did entertain the 50-percent cut, leaving Durham to deliver the bad news.
“At the end of the day, our working budget for community service contracts will be $150,000,” said Durham. “How do all these agencies fit? It’s a conversation I’ll be having with these services.”
The reductions aren’t completely unjustified. Changes at the state and federal levels already had the township board looking for ways to trim costs before a funding crunch hits.
Durham explained that township funds were targeted by the House of Representatives in the last state legislative session for use in road funding, though the legislators didn’t have a grasp on what the money represented. Many of the funds are not simply surplus, he explained.
“There’s a lot of money you’re not able to touch,” said Durham. “For instance, we have payee funds. Those are funds that belong to clients. There are payroll funds, debt service funds. We don’t commingle our funds at all.”
Still, the state moved forward with targeting “excess” township funds to fund road construction, a state line-item that is supposed to be bolstered by gasoline and fuel taxes, license plate fees, and various court fees. Significant road funding also comes from the federal government. However, funding freezes and cancellations by the President and Congress this year have reduced funding for many road and bridge construction projects.
Durham admitted that Center Township does carry a surplus presently, with an eye toward a changing economy.
“We always think about, if a factory closes, do we have the funds to meet the needs?” said Durham. “And we always have been in a position to say, yeah, we could handle it to an extent. We couldn’t go forever.
“But, this year, we already asked our board for an additional appropriation for assistance, because we did almost $200,000 in two months. Those are the things that worry me when it comes to future.”
A typical month when it comes to requests for assistance, Durham said, ranges between $45,000-$50,000. And Center Township is one of the better-positioned townships. Others are already seeking loans to cover the need, Durham added.
“This year was tricky with the budget,” said Durham. “Property tax caps are always going to reduce any ability that we have. And now, township government is funding road construction with our ‘excess’ funds. It just makes the outlook kind of look a little bit more dire on what’s going to happen in ’27, ‘28 and so on.”